Adding the Presbyterians

I had to go off of the readings for this one and a little bit off of what blogs had been posted. (Sorry that I missed your presentation, Ed and Joe. I wish I could have seen it.)

The first thing that struck me was that, like the Lutherans, Presbyterians also have the faith with works following idea. I did like reading, “Many commentators have been bewildered that these theological convictions have not bred passivity in Reformed churches but instead have fostered vigorous activity and impulses toward societal transformation.” This is actually something I always expect to happen when I hear the faith thing first. I would expect that to take over and the works to get lost somewhere along the way. The reading claims that works are seen as a way to express your faith, an idea which I like. I think that because of Jesus’ ministry, the best way to show that you received the message and agree with it would be through works. I suppose I’ve never really thought about that before. I’m glad that’s one way it manifests itself.

I also think it’s interesting that the Presbyterian Church, as a whole, tend to be from more educated classes. I would think this would affect the way they view things. Educated people would be more concerned with reason and order, so it makes sense that they tend to be this way. I also find it interesting that they seem to have such a positive view about the abilities of the government. I suppose mine have always been slightly clouded, so I find it interesting when a group thinks there is a “’common grace’ available to persons to shape social institutions for the common good and not merely to restrain human sinfulness.” I suppose I agree that COULD be the case, but in my experience when someone tries to shape it for the common good, it usually ends up backfiring. But perhaps I’m a bit too cynical- I am from Chicago. We aren’t exactly known for our upstanding politicians. I’m glad they do acknowledge that this power can be corrupted, though.

I like the structure more than the UCC and Lutheran structures. I wouldn’t expect the entire church to get involved in every tiny detail, but I’m glad that they have lay people represented. It sounds like they are able to represent more of what the people from congregation to congregation want. The UCC seemed to be more just a bunch of liberal ministers deciding things. I don’t really think it was that reflective of anything in the church because so many of the churches branched off and went their own direction. I prefer a bit more stability in doctrines and ideas. It also seemed a bit more decisive than the Lutheran church.

One thing I have noticed is that not one of these churches seems to slack on human dignity. None of them seem to have an uncaring message that says, “As long as you believe in God, it doesn’t matter what you do.” I wasn’t expecting this message, but I suppose it could have existed. The churches focusing on faith before works could have fallen into this trap, but I’m very glad to see they haven’t. All in all, I think they all have a very similar message when it comes to social justice.